Rationale

The Florida Museum of Natural History (FLMNH) contains world-class natural history collections and databases (Figure 1, below) that are essential to understanding past and present natural and human environments. These collections are premier examples of the world’s archive of biodiversity information.

The University also has strong cooperative partnerships with biological field stations in biodiversity hotspots and universities around the world (e.g. Kakamega Forest National Reserve, Kenya; Fautron Foundation in Rondonia and Instituto Uiraçu, Brazil; Podocarpus National Park, Ecuador; Universidad Nacional Agraria de la Selva, Tingo Maria, Peru; University of the West Indies, Jamaica; University of Papua New Guinea, PNG; and University of Madagascar), allowing scientists and students to participate in field research as well as laboratory data analysis.

The Institute will permit a greater flow of large-scale research opportunities, taking advantage of the distributed expertise at UF.

This Institute will also position UF as a leader in training the next generation of biodiversity experts and conservation scientists.

bar graph. FLMNH is 4th behind the Smithsonian, London and Paris.

Figure 1. Numbers of specimens and artifacts in the major US and international natural history museums (in millions).